alphassl the requested property value is empty Exception for HRESULT 0x80094004

alphassl the requested property value is empty Exception for HRESULT 0x80094004

Problem

When completing an Alphassl certificate install on IIS using the “Complete Certificate Request” you receive the error:

There was an error while performing this operation.

Details: 

The requested property value is empty. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x80094004)

Now this is a Typical Microsoft Error in that it really only has meaning to the person who created the error. For us end users stuck in this weird Microsoft world, the error message is trying to tell us that the Certificate you pointed to for the “Complete Certificate Request function in IIS

is pointing to a .CER file that is not valid as a certificate for import.

So at this point it is time to check what certificate you placed in the .CER file that you are trying to import.

Solution

In particular with Alphassl certificates, the process of completing a new certificate request is completed by email. The end of the process involves receiving an email with instructions on how to complete the process of import.

Now if you are anything like me, and you think you know what you are doing having completed this process a few times. You tend to work fast and read instructions later (like an IKEA assembly job). And on several of my certificate install jobs I have made the same error. That being that I read to point 2 above. Click the link which if I read it is obviously to the Root Certificate Install. Then proceed to copy and paste the SHA-256 Certificate into the process and save is as a .cer file, then try to complete the process with that hash. 

So basically this is all wrong. The certificate Hash is actually included in the bottom of the email received from Alphassl and that hash from the bottom fo the email is the correct hash to copy and paste to your IIS server and save as a .cer file. It is then this file that you use to complete the process with your IIS “Complete Certificate Request” function. Not the above Root certificate.

RTFM.

There was an error while performing this operation.

Details: 

The requested property value is empty. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x80094004)